Author's note: The ultimate 'That'll do' as I try to keep going with this story. We're back into uncharted territory after this which should hopefully make things easier now. Thanks for reading!

Edit: Ok, I rewrote the ending. We're getting somewhere.

The crash woke Will from a daze; at first, he didn't know where he was. His head was pounding worse than before like Tug was trotting around in his skull. His wrists were itchy where they'd been bound. It was lighter now than the first time he had woken, and he could make out some vague silhouettes around him. It was a windowless room, with the only light seeping in from under the door. And where ever he was, it stank. Worse than anything he'd ever smelled. Saliva gathered in the back of his throat, threatening to make him sick, but he swallowed it. He brought his hands up and pinched his nose. But where was he?

"Ya wanna break anything else while you're at it, Little Pete?" a thick voice barked. A few mice scurried under the door, and Will jerked out of their way.

Ah right. He'd been kidnapped.

He let go of his nose, wriggled forward along the floor, careful not to breathe, and pressed himself against the door to listen. He couldn't hear who the speaker was talking to, but they had obviously caused him a great deal of anger.

"What have ya done? Ya didn't tell him!"

There was a pause, in which Will assumed the other person was answering, and then loud thudding footsteps as the speaker paced around.

"Ya damned fool! You've likely killed us all. Set that damned ranger on us. He'll hunt us down like dogs if he knows the boy is here!"

The ranger could only be Halt. Will pressed his forehead against the damp wood and closed his eyes. Halt was looking for him, and he was here. And that made everything so much better. He couldn't stop the tears of relief that rushed down his cheeks. Halt isn't going to find me here like a helpless damsel in distress, he thought.

"Maybe we just get rid of him? I don't want grief from any ranger."

There was a long silence, and Will's scalp prickled. He felt like he was being looked at.

He snapped his eyes back open and launched himself away from the door. In the low light, he looked around the room, searching for anything he could use. The room was almost bare. There were bags of flour on the shelves covered in mould blooms and the greasy rope around his wrists, but otherwise, there was nothing.

"You'd better damn hope he doesn't!"

There was another crash, a door slamming?

"Now get outta my damn shop!"

And then there were huge thundering footsteps, and the door flew open, and light flooded in like a flash, Will was temporarily blinded.

"Sneaky little Rat." The speaker boomed. Strong hands grabbed his wrists, and still weak from the poison, Will couldn't save himself from being dragged along the floor. Just before a bag was shoved over his head, he realised he was in a bakery and decided, with the stench of mould fresh in his nostrils, he would never eat bread again.

***Salmon river village***

Halt glared at the bread like it had personally wronged him as he dipped it in his soup.

The inn they were at was packed wall to wall with people. Grumbling. Fighting. Spilling beer over Halt and Gilan, who were miserably trying to eat.

"Why are there so many damn people here." Halt snapped at the bread.

"They work here..." Gilan trailed off. "I suppose."

They had interrogated the little man from the road until he was in tears and had found out all about Galrun's festival for the forest. A nasty little secret kept by an otherwise unassuming farming village. Once a year, they all came together to dance, sing, drink and sacrifice goods to the forest gods. Halt didn't believe in things like that, but. With two things pointing them to Galrun, it was too much of a coincidence to ignore.

"It'll be at the stroke of midnight." the man had told them, "When the forest gods will come. Kuna will descend from the trees and take what is hers. It will be the show of the year."

"When is it?"

"Three days."

With that information, they headed South to Galrun. On their way, they passed through another small village, where the salmon river used to run before it was redirected for agriculture. They had walked through the dried-up riverbed and seen the sunken, sad faces of the villagers as they tended to barren fields turned to mud with the rain. They passed a signpost in that village, covered with flowers and letters. And that was when Halt realised what was missing. No children were playing here. They were all gone. Put off and uneasy at the villagers' suspicious stares, they continued through and found another village that lay on the river's new course. A fishing village. From there, it would be another day, at least before they reached Galrun.

They both were silent. Silence doesn't mean much when a hundred other sweaty bodies are pressed against you, and the air is thick with sounds and smells. Halt felt overwhelmed. Usually, a crowd wouldn't bother him, even one of this size. A crowd makes a great place to hide, but it was too much tonight. He stood with force, and his chair skidded back on the wood, causing a temporary lull in the conversation around them, He saw Gilan cringe at the attention, but he couldn't stop to care. Instead, he wedged himself through the crush of people and forced his way to the bar.

"Got a room?" Halt yelled over the thrum, and the barkeep laughed.

"What do you think, genius?" He gestured around at the packed tavern. Halt gripped the bar top, let out a long, hissing sigh, then turned, grabbed Gilan by the shoulder, and forced his way out into the open air. It was raining, of course. They slept in a barn.

It was well past midnight, based on the position of the moon, but Halt was wide awake. As the rain had sucked all the heat from the air and the barn was wet and cold, he had only lightly dozed, and so it was that he heard the stealthy sounds of footsteps across the timber, barely a meter away. His eyes snapped open, but he didn't move. Concealed by his cloak, he turned his head slightly to see the barn door. A man stood, he knew it was a man from the shape of the body, hulking at the door. His growling breath echoed all around. Over his shoulder was the silhouette of a bow, and the fox skull on his head identified him as a hunter.

Gilan was awake too Halt could tell by how he'd stilled his breathing, body rigid and alert.

They held their breath, pensive and waiting. Watching as the hunter's eyes scoured the barn. In two more steps, he'd be upon them. Halt knew his cloak could hide many things, but it could not save him if this man stepped on him. And the hunter was very close. Halt could smell him.

Finally, the hunter turned to face the outside again, snarling an order in undertones to someone nearby. Then he stepped further into the barn, moving away from the door, leaving a gap where Halt and Gilan could escape. They wasted no time.

Out like thieves the crept into the night, blending effortlessly with the shadows. They passed right behind the hunter, heard his growling breath, and almost heard the beating of his heart. For one fragile moment, he had turned, his eyes right on them, but he had not expected to see anything in the darkness, so he did not. Outside the barn, strangers gathered in the shadows. Men were murmuring among each other, and even with his limited vision, Halt could feel their anticipation. Something was happening here tonight. The moon passed behind a cloud and the world plunged to black.

The rangers took advantage, disappeared into the tree line, and settled to watch.

Suddenly there was a short bark from the hunter in the barn, and two more men emerged, dragging something behind them.

"By god." Gilan hissed, gripping Halt's arm, "Look!"

It wasn't something being dragged. There in the dark, a small link of people were walking. They looked tiny, and at first, Halt thought it was the light, or maybe the distance playing tricks. But with growing horror, he realised they were children. Bound together like slaves.

"What do we do?" Gilan whispered, his face aghast.

One of the children began to cry but was quickly silenced.

"We can't take them, not like this," Halt said through gritted teeth. He wanted nothing more than to race down and put an arrow into every one of those bastards and get the children to safety. "Who knows what they'll do if we reveal ourselves. We'll have to follow. Wait for an advantage."

"What about Will?"

Halt took a very long, deliberate breath and let it out evenly.

"He's just gonna have to hold out for one more night."